Illusions of Time
by Kae Rae Gallatin
Summary: There is something strange going on. Why would the Soul Society allow a whole bunch of people to go on vacation to an oceanside city just to "relax"? It is time they discovered just how much of a non-vacation they are really on.
1. Oh, the Joys of Shopping

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo-sensei does. Though I do own an Urahara plushie…

A/N: This story will be in short chapters due to the fact that the character whose point of view is taken changes a lot.(End A/N)

Matsumoto was having the time of her life, which generally insured that Hitsugaya most definitely was not. She had forcefully dragged him along to a street full of the shabbiest-looking shops he had ever seen. 'Why did I allow myself to be taken along with her to the real world?!' he wondered for about the tenth time that morning. 'Oh, right,' he thought glumly, 'she begged, pleaded, and did two giant stacks of paperwork.'

To top it all off, it was hot. Scorching hot. Every sunbeam that managed to hit him made him grimace. Of course, Matsumoto was oblivious to his discomfort, humming to herself and peering into grubby shop windows. Something caught her eye in the window of a very dilapidated shack of a shop, and she paused a moment, deciding. A delicate wind fluttered around her hair and her neon pink and florescent orange swirled scarf as she spun around to grin cheerfully at Hitsugaya.

"Let's go in this one!" she exclaimed, wrenching open the door enthusiastically. Watching Matsumoto disappear inside, Hitsugaya stood in the doorway, hesitant to enter. The air within smelled musty and old, and there seemed to be a thick layer of dust smothering everything. The light from the open doorway made something glint in the dust, and curiosity won out.

When Matsumoto was finally finished with her shopping, for this store anyhow, she found him gazing into an icy blue swirling orb that fit perfectly in his hand.

"You gonna buy it, taicho?" she asked. He visibly jumped. "Uh, yeah, I suppose." Matsumoto grinned at how out of it he had been. He hadn't even reprimanded her for calling him taicho.


	2. Hotter Than A Boiler Room In July

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, Tite Kubo-sensei does. I admire him greatly.

Warning: Ikkaku does a bit of swearing in this chapter. I will politely censor most of it. I'm sure you can guess what was said, anyways.

"Why'd we come on this damn stinking trip again?" Ikkaku moaned, stretched out on the bedspread at the hotel room, staring at the various ugly stains on the ceiling. "It's too f***ing hot!"

Yumechika glanced at him from the bathroom. "It doesn't matter why, because we're here and it's too late to go back now." He sprayed more anti-frizz product on his hair. It wasn't helping; his hair just wouldn't behave. "If it's that bad, go find a freezer and sit in it or something. Nothing I can do about this heat."

Ikkaku sighed loudly. "I'm going to go get some ice and soda." He hopped off the bed and slammed the door shut behind him as he went out. All was silent for a few moments, except for the sound of Yumechika's hair products and the hum of passing cars. A loud yell pierced the peacefulness. Ikkaku flew back through the door. "Ow ow ow ow OWW!" he yelped.

"Forgot your shoes?" Yumechika asked nonchalantly.

"Shut up," came the muttered reply. The door slammed again as Ikkaku left once more. Yumechika sighed and washed all the failed hair chemicals out of his hair, threw on a decent-looking hat, grabbed his bag, and left the hotel room.


	3. Losing Reason

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, but I do draw a bit of fanart…playing with characters is fun.

One of the elders of the Kuchiki family walked into Byakuya's office. Renji's desk was empty; he was on vacation in the real world. "You're pacing," the elder commented matter-of-factly. "Whatever for?" Byakuya stopped in his tracks. He forced himself to sit in his chair.

"The reason? I won't say." The elder raised his eyebrows.

"I could order you to tell me," he threatened, watching Byakuya's face carefully to judge his reaction.

"You wouldn't approve of the answer." Byakuya looked the old man straight in the eyes.

"Than it is information I should be privy to, for scandalous information, or the similar, is dangerous." Tension filled the air between the two. 'This isn't going well,' thought the elder, 'perhaps I shall be a bit merciful.'

"You have until tomorrow to gather your thoughts, and then you will tell me. Do not attempt to lie, I will know if you do." The elder swept dramatically out of the building.

Byakuya stared at his hands and wondered what he could possibly say that was not a lie, and would not chance disfavor. He thought, and found nothing.


	4. In Which Nothing Much Is Decided

Disclaimer: Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo-sensei, and disclaimers are how I show my appreciation of his characters.

"Come on, Tatsuki! We're going to the movies!" announced Orihime. She dragged Tatsuki out of the room she was sharing with Rukia. Outside, Ichigo was arguing with Rukia over which movie they should go see. Uryu was sulking at having been told off earlier. Chad and Hanataro followed silently. Neither of them paid much attention to the rest or to the scenery, interesting as it was.

'We look rather mismatched,' thought Uryu suddenly, 'and very strange, too.' Everyone followed Orihime, who somehow knew where the theater was already, or so they assumed. About halfway there, a small, pink-haired girl showed up out of nowhere.

"You forgot me!" she declared, mock angry and pouting. "I would have never known you were going, but Kenny told me you asked him and he didn't want to go!" Another girl, huffing and puffing, finally caught up with them. She was having a hard time keeping pace.

"H-hello," she gasped.

"Hello," said Chad.

"Hi, Momo," greeted Hanataro.

"You're slow," remarked Yachiru. She then went over to bother Uryu. Momo trudged along at the back of the group. Ichigo and Rukia didn't stop fighting all the way to the theater.

A little bit away from the theater, Chad noticed something interesting-looking on a side street. "I'll catch up," he said, and went to go check it out. The rest entered the movie theater and started trying to come to a decision on what to watch.


	5. Saying Hello To The Porcelain Throne

Disclaimer: I do not have any claim of ownership to Bleach, it belongs to Tite Kubo-sensei.

A/N: By the way, all the characters staying at the hotel have to share two to a room. Also, sorry this is so short, didn't want to dwell on poor Izuru's suffering for too long. But the next one will be Renji's pov, and it's certainly longer.(End A/N)

Izuru retched violently into the toilet. 'Some vacation this is becoming," he thought. Last night, he had eaten or drank something that did not agree with him at all. He wasn't sure what. Renji hadn't come back at all last night, and Izuru couldn't do more than leave the bathroom for two seconds before he had to return to heave up more acidic barf. Where had he put that phone? He snagged his bag that he thought it was in and dug through it as best he could.

There it was. 'Which buttons again? Let's see…this one, then that one?" He held the phone to his ear and tried to hold back what wanted to come up.

It rang, and rang, and then a gruff voice said, "What do you want?"

"Uh-sorry-K-kenpachi, I h-hit the wr-wrong button-" Izuru couldn't hold it back anymore and let loose into the toilet once again.

"It's thirteen," Kenpachi said, then hung up. Izuru let out a sigh of relief and dialed the correct number.


	6. Strange Places, Stranger Companions

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, because I am only smart enough to understand what a mole is, and Tite Kubo is a genius.

Oh my gosh! I finally got around to updating! Sorry, I've been major hectic lately.

"Hey, guys! Check this out!"

"Ooh, check out those tattoos!"

"He's hot."

"What a beautiful hair color!"

"Wow…"

Renji opened his eyes drowsily. 'What the hell…' He had fallen asleep on the beach the night before. He sat up and looked around. There were five girls standing in a half-circle in front of him. "He's awake," announced the one with purple hair.

"Hi!" said the blond one hyperly. The other three just sort of gawked.

"What're you staring at?!" growled Renji.

The blond, the green-haired one, and the blue-haired one ran off, the blue-haired one yelling at the other two, "You cowards!"

"Idiots," muttered the purple-haired girl, turning to watch them. The other girl who had stayed behind had pinkish-red hair that almost hung in her eyes.

"Hi!" she said, smiling, "I'm Ichigo!"

"Uh…hi," said Renji. Now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure exactly where he had fallen asleep, or how to get back to the hotel. He couldn't even see the city from here. "Where's the city from where we are?" he asked, hoping it wasn't too far.

"Over the rocks," said the purple-haired girl, "People don't usually come out this far."

"I'd better get going, then." Renji stood up, brushing as much sand off as he could.

"Strawberry…" The purple-haired girl's voice expressed a barely veiled threat.

"Oh, right!" Ichigo gave a little bow towards Renji. "Won't you please come in for tea first? I'm sure you must be hungry and thirsty." As if to answer for him, Renji's stomach suddenly gave a loud growl.

The next five chapters are written, but I need to find time to type them…gah! I wish I had my own computer.


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